Independent flexibility

Sir,

I would like to reply to the letter from Mr. Peter Fenton in February’s MOTOR SPORT.

It is possible to find a garage that will repair defective parts, where feasible, rather than replace, but it is more likely to be a small independent garage rather than a large dealership. It is the common system of bonus payment at large dealers that encourages their mechanics to undue haste with resultant deterioration in standards. This search for throughput and the potential profits from the Parts Department also encourages the “replace rather than repair” ideology.

I make no judgement on the standards of Williams Motors in the above comments for without seeing the vehicle and their repairs it would be unfair so to do.

In many instances it is possible to spend time stripping a component, perhaps such as the BMW heater motor, only to find that, after all, it is irreparable and a replacement has to be fitted. Who then will pay for the lost time? Customers such as Mr. Fenton would undoubtedly baulk at doing so and use the incident as further evidence of garage malpractice.

Turning to his comments regarding the fitting of Motorcraft sparking plugs to his BMW it is ridiculous to imply that only Bosch plugs can be the correct type and quality. Any good quality plug of the correct heat range would be satisfactory in service. Incidentally, Mr. Fenton seems to have missed his vocation. With an ability to repair the washer electrics, remove, repair and replace the heater motor in less than half an hour he would make a fortune as a mechanic on the aforementioned bonus schemes!
Roger Millin, BSc, CEng, MIMechE
Witney, Oxon